12 Cheaper, Better Glock Alternatives

Last updated July 6th 2024

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The Winners at a Glance

Image	Product	Detail	Price
	S&W M&P Shield	Overall Winner	Lowest Price
	Taurus GX4	Glock 43x rival	Lowest Price
	Canik TP9 Series	Glock 34 rival	Lowest Price
	Walther PDP	Glock 17 rival	Lowest Price
	Palmetto State Armory Dagger	Glock 19 rival	Lowest Price

What Compact Pistol Beats a Glock? Lots of Them…

We really do have to give Glock credit for one of the slickest marketing jobs in American history. It’s the market leader, but there are some better Glock alternatives out there.

I have seen Glocks described as the Toyota Camry of the firearms world and I think it’s a fair call. It’s massively reliable, but it won’t set your pulse racing.

The famous Glock grip angle means you have to adapt to the gun, too, and a Glock is rarely a gun that just feels like an extension of your hand.

But what is the best Glock alternative for sale in 2023?

1. Smith & Wesson M&P

• Price: $399.99+
• Capacity: 10+1 Rounds
• Barrel Length: 3.1
• Total: 7.3
• Weight: 1.26lb
• Caliber: 9mm/ 40 S&W

Overall Winner

Owner reviews generally put this well clear of the Glock 19, and it’s a cheaper weapon on the whole.

Those reviews include law enforcement officers, who often rely on the M&P Plus as their back up or main weapon.

You can get a full size, compact and sub-compact Smith & Wesson M&P polymer framed striker fired pistol is going head to head with the whole popular Glock line in truth.

You get 13+1 with an extended magazine, or 10+1 as nature intended it.

Performance Center models with pistol red dots and an optional manual safety alongside the trigger safety. You can order a ported custom slide as well.

They truly are Glock killers/best compact pistols that aren’t a Glock on the market.

• Best prices for M&P Pistols.

2. Taurus GX4

• Price: $279.99
• Barrel: 4 inch
• Total: 7.28 inch
• Weight: 1.55lb
• Capacity: 15+1

Low Budget Winner

You might want the even cheaper Taurus G2C, and you might be right. But you can still buy a Taurus GX4 and have $200 in your pocket, or a Glock G43x.

And the Taurus GX4 really is a much better personal defense pistol than the $250 G2C, sub compact pistol for not that much more money. That might make it the best gun in this class and it is certainly a great Glock alternative.

The trigger is better and it’s a great polymer framed striker fired handgun. You get a simple trigger safety and a lot of molded plastic. But damn it works. This is the best cheap CCW here, even though it is slightly more expensive than its own sibling.

3. Canik TP9 SFX

• Price: $499.99
• Capacity: 18+1
• Barrel: 5.2
• Total: 7.5
• Weight: 1.8lb

Best Competition Shooting Pistol

This is a great handgun in its own right, but that price is just insane for a gun with this much effort put into it.

You can buy a classic Glock 19 rival, the duty sized TP9 series, for about $400 by the way. This is the Glock 34 killer, a specialist for shooting targets at the range.

• Buy the full line of striker fired handguns on the market.

You get 18+1 rounds with the 9mm and the slide serrations are easy to grab from just about everywhere. An extended magazine release and ambi safety all help maintain the illusion, and replaceable backstraps can tailor the grip.

These are real alternatives to the Glock 34, and you’ll save a lot of money. You can kit it out with suppressor height sights and a reflex, as there is a whole subculture growing round this gun.

4. Sig Sauer P365

• Price: $479.99
• Barrel: 3.1 inch
• Weight: 1lb
• Capacity: 10+1

Micro Compact Champion

The Sig P365 changed the firearms world when this micro compact pistol launched in 2018.

Now it has evolved into a model line with the more advanced Sig P365 X and the longer barrel XL. But the classic Sig P365 is a great gun and it’s the cheapest one in the line up too.

5. Shadow Systems MR920 Foundation

• Price: $599.99
• Barrel length: 4 inch barrel
• Total: 7 inches long
• Weight: 1.2lb
• Capacity: 17+1

Best Glock Clone

The Shadow Systems MR920 started out as a simple budget Glock clone. But it has evolved into some of the best 9mm compact pistols.

This looks like the best custom Glock19 with aftermarket slide serrations, trigger guard work, a custom stipple, extended beavertail and other Glock upgrades. It’s lighter, easy to shoot and just about all the controls are perfectly thought out.

You can get threaded barrel versions of the Shadow Systems MR920 with a more tactical flavor as well. They are some of the best compact 9mm pistols on the market, and simply shoot better than the original Glock.

6. Heckler & Koch VP9

• Price: $549.99
• Capacity: 15+1
• Barrel : 4.25
• Total: 17+1
• Weight: 1.7lb

Awesome, But Sometimes Pricey

The H&K VP9 is arguably better than anything on this list, if you find it for the right price,

Now the RRP is up around $800 and it’s not THAT much better than the Glock 19. That’s the issue and why it’s this far down.

But if you find the H&K VP9 at the right price, basically less than $550, then buy it right now and treat it as the winner…

7. Beretta APX Centurion

• Price: $478.99
• Capacity: 15+1
• Barrel : 4.25
• Total: 17+1
• Weight: 1.7lb

Italian Design Flair

The Beretta APX Centurion didn’t get much love on these pages. But this is definitely cheaper than the Glock 19 and a mid-life redesign has made it much, much better.

Beretta can make great guns, and the 92 in all its forms is a legend. But it has struggled with polymer pistols and has effectively accepted mediocrity. The new compact handgun might change that.

The dimensions are basically Glock 19-esque. The grip on the Beretta APX Centurion is fat enough to pack in 17 rounds of 9mm too and we like the extended magazine release.

All of this makes for a solid polymer framed striker-fired pistol.

And yet, tired of going home from the disco alone, Beretta has lowered its prices. With this new price point, this APX Centurion lightweight pistol gets a fresh start. That might be enough to swing it and make this your favorite not a Glock…

8. Walther PDP

• Price: $599.99
• Capacity: 15+1
• Barrel: 5 
• Total: 8
• Weight: 1.6lb

More Complete Glock

The Walther PDP could only really compare to the Glock 34 and G17, so that covers the pricing concern.

This is another low budget Gucci Glock then, but it’s so much better than that. It’s also a tactical alternative to the company’s stellar Match pistols like the Walther PPQ Q5.

This is the new breed. They are optics ready plastic pistols that look right at home with red dot sights with a plate that is similar to the Glock MOS system. Only the top tier Gucci Glock options come close to this OEM trigger job for a start

The optics ready models are potential gamechangers. The PDP has arguably the sweetest out the box trigger pull on the market.

It is Optics Ready for pistol red dots and the grip module is way more advanced than anything stock Glock models can offer. It does have something approaching finger grooves, but they work so much better than the Gen 4 Glocks.

The Walther P99 is another enduring favorite as a carry pistol, but the modern Glock 43x with red dots is the best concealed carry gun out of those two.

9. CZ P-10 Compact

• Price: $379.99
• Barrel: 4.5
• Weight: 1.62lb
• Capacity:15+1

A Cheaper G19

This Eastern European special is getting a lot of love on the forums. The general feeling is that it’s a better gun than a real Glock 19 Gen 4, and about a match for the Gen5 19 Glock as a home defense gun.

The Glock Gen 5 has turned the tables quality wise in the latest reviews, but this is still a great gun and still wins on price. And we like the push button slide lock, accessory rail and interchangeable backstraps that help these Glock 19 alternatives fit like a glove.

You can buy Glock clones from every corner of the globe now, but these command the next level of respect. This budget friendly manufacturer is a real problem for the Austrians in the group tests.

We like the Double Action/Single Action, the CZ 75, too, but it would be a controversial inclusion here. So the Double Action/Single Action hammer fired handguns on the market can wait for another day.

10. Palmetto State Armory Dagger

• Price: $299.99
• Barrel: 3.9 inch
• Total: 7.15″
• Weight: 1.4lb

Blue Collar Clone

Palmetto State Armory is a legend in the world of cheap AR-15s and it has woven the same magic with its first handgun: the PSA Dagger.

These are basically budget Glock clones with some ambitious touches. They include a Diamond Like Carbon finish on the barrel, front serrations on the slide and what looks like the kind of aggressive grip texture and undercut trigger guard you find on factory custom guns on the grip panels of the PSA Dagger.

Now the shooting experience and the spec sheet are two different things, but the Palmetto State Armory Dagger is still a perfectly acceptable budget gun for self and home defense. The counterpart Glock models are better, but these are a lot cheaper than Glock compacts.

And you can order an optics ready, red dots ready version slide, any color combo and basically any spec. Essentially they’re reverse engineered Glock clones that evolved into a unique model over time.

The PSA Dagger has evolved from a simple Glock clone into an entire model line. You can spend more than $400 on a PSA Dagger these days, if you go for ALL the bells and whistles with this polymer frame pistol.

Are they real Glock 19 alternaitves/killers/best compact pistols that aren’t a Glock? In some, very limited ways, yes.

11. Springfield Armory Hellcat

• Price: $549.99
• Capacity: 11+1
• Barrel length: 3.1 inch barrel
• Weight: 1.1lb

New Micro 9mm Contender

The Springfield Hellcat has kicked the Glock 43x out of a lot of carry holsters around the United States.

It has an awesome trigger pull and these real Glock killers have also given the little Sig P365 striker fired handgun a lot of sleepless nights.

The Hellcat is smaller than the Glock pistols and these polymer frame carry guns come with a lot of premium features.

A low profile slide lock and mag release are just two of those, and those grip panels are much better than the old XD grip zone. We like the grip texture and undercut trigger guard too.

Try the Hellcat 9mm handgun, and you might be in for a major surprise. It’s not particularly cheap, but it could easily become your favorite not a Glock pistol.

12. Sig Sauer P320 Compact

• Price Point: $499.99
• Capacity: 17+1
• Barrel Length (Inches): 4
• Length (Inches): 7.2
• Weight: 1.6lb
• Caliber: 9mm/45 ACP

US Military Sidearm

The Sig Sauer P320 Compact pistol has been left in the shade by the 365 XL and all its variants. That means you can find gun deals, and this is still a great EDC.

It fits the same profile as a Glock 19 and the Sig P320 is better for many of us, as well as military & law enforcement adopting these polymer framed striker fired handguns as a service weapon.

The grip angle feels more natural on this compact handgun and it’s just a wonderful looking thing with a serious accessory rail. So, these could be the Glock 19 killers you’ve been looking for.

Now they have had issues with accidental discharges, negligent discharges or whatever you want to call them. And that is a big question mark over this gun.

Aside from that these are high quality Glock 19 killers, or at least some of the best compact pistols that aren’t a Glock.

Don’t Forget the Glock Clones

Glock Clones from the likes of Shadow Systems have evolved into a subculture, and you can now easily build a Glock clone with the best custom Glock parts.

You can build the best Glock clones or spend exponentially more on a match grade pistol with an optics ready slide and upgraded everything. That can include a grip module from the likes of Wilson Combat, or a complete pistol that costs way more than a stock Glock.

Check this post for the best Glock clones and custom Glocks in one spectacular package deal, and get some aftermarket parts.

• The Best Custom Glock in 2023

Now You Need Ammo

Are you getting the best deals on guns, gear, accessories, red dot sights, all that jazz? Well you’re here, so if not then you’re doing something about it.

Here are our favorite suppliers for your top Glock pistol, or your new rival…

• Brownells – A great supplier of firearms, ammo, Glock mags and bulk deals.
• PSA – Guns, gear, ammo, a red dot sight, Trijicon RMR, the works. Daily gun deals.

Other Stuff

We got hunting, fishing, outdoor gear and more, not just a pistol, guns, ammo, open carry holsters and top Glock upgrades. Camping, fishing and that stuff aren’t our forte, but we try for you. We also sell safes to responsible gun owners and we got a Trijicon RMR as well with daily gun deals.

We can sort you out with a fire control unit for a P320 or a single action Glock clone, too, which you can then build yourself with aftermarket parts. A fire control unit is hard work, though, when you can just buy a complete pistol for less.